


Lance's Birthday 2017

by teddy_parade



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Beach Trip, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Fluff, Gay Keith (Voltron), Homesick Lance (Voltron), Keith is a good boyfriend, Lance's Birthday, Langst, M/M, Space Uncle Coran (Voltron), klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-28
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-12-08 02:25:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11636994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teddy_parade/pseuds/teddy_parade
Summary: Lance is homesick thinking about what his family would usually be doing around his birthday. Keith will do anything to make Lance happy again.





	Lance's Birthday 2017

Keith sat hunched over on his bed, legs swung over the side bouncing up and down in anticipation and frustration as he thought, writing down and scribbling out idea after idea into a purple note book given to him by the Blade on one of his most recent visits. He sighed in defeat as he completed yet another page of crappy, dead end ideas that were just not good enough. Now people had called Keith a perfectionist in the past; whether it be at the Garrisons or in training on the ship even back when he was a kid and he was the only one bothering to colour in the lines and with the right colours. But nothing, nothing ever, had come close to how hard he was trying right now. He needed the perfect gift for Lance this time. Better than perfect; one that showed lance exactly how much he cared about the boy, which was a lot. 

Keith and lance had been dating for just over a month now. After ages of admittedly embarrassing pining and awkward flirting, a near death experience during battle had sent feelings flying everywhere between the two rivals and it was a match made in heaven. Every single day since then had been bliss for Keith and seeing Lance get homesick often or space out and grow quiet, or worst of all when he overcompensated and grew too loud, hating on himself for it later hurt Keith to witness and he wanted nothing more then to help his boyfriend feel better and know he was loved; by everyone on the ship but especially him. 

Keith began to crinkle the sides of the paper he was writing on due to his tightening grip on his notebook. None of these ideas were good enough and his brain was practically fried. Lance’s birthday was two days from now and he had nothing. What kind of a boyfriend was he? Keith attempted to have another crack at writing some more ideas, trying to pull them out of the paper with his intense stare as he re-read over his work, but he was completely blank. 

The sound of the automatic metal doors to their shared room opening made Keith jump, quickly stashing his notebook under his pillow, still in his hands, pretending that he had fallen asleep on top of the blankets fully clothed again, hoping that Lance didn’t see what he had been doing. Lance would find it weird, that he was trying to hard. Or maybe want to see what he had come up with and think that Keith didn’t know him at all. Keith knew everything about Lance, he had made it his goal ever since they went to space after learning that he was a lot deeper of a person then he came across as. That boy had so many layers and Keith wanted to see all of them and love all of them. He knew Lance and he knew he could find the perfect thing for him, he just hadn’t found it yet.

Lance walked up to Keith without a word, stopping for a second to see if Keith was asleep. Keith couldn’t tell if Lance thought he was asleep or not but continued to flop right on top of him either way. The Blue Paladin tangled his legs with the squished boy under him, wrapping his arms around him as Keith let out a groan. 

“I’m sleepy.” he yawned as he cuddled his head into Keith’s back, making himself comfortable.   
“So was I, if you didn’t notice, I was asleep.” Keith lied as he let go of the notebook under his pillow, attempting to throw his boyfriend off him, and succeeding. He pushed his notebook back behind his bed while he watched Lance tumble to the floor, landing with his face on the floor and his butt in the air.

“Always a class act, you are!” Keith said with a smirk, sitting up with his arms crossed, proud of his actions.   
“More elegant them you Mullet.” Lance bantered back flawlessly as he pushed himself up with his hands into a standing position again.   
“Oh so we are back to Mullet are we?” retorted Keith, beaming at the fluidity of their words, no longer awkward and flustered like when they first got together.   
“You didn’t mind last night.” Lance quipped as he moved closer to Keith to has positioned himself back with his feet on the floor, ready to attack back at whatever Lance would say next.  
“What are you even talking about?” Keith rolled his eyes, wrapping his arms around his boyfriends waist and pulling him close so that his chin was resting on Lance’s stomach, looking up into his massive blue eyes, still breathtaking through the masses of bloodshot veins and deep purple circles. 

“I told you… I’m sleepy.”

“I can see that.” Replied Keith empathetically, they had all been thrown into this war that none of them had started. The fate of the whole universe was on their shoulders. Lance’s back felt tense where Keith soothed it gently, and he felt so fragile under his touch.

“Come to bed, Lance, you need it. Here let me help you.” Lance let Keith take his hand and help him lift his shirt over his head. Keith stripped himself down to his boxers while Lance did the same before they both climbed under the covers of their bed which was probably too small for the both of them but they made it work. 

Keith wrapped his arms around Lance; he may have been slightly taller than Keith but the two always switched when it came to things like spooning and cuddling. Lance rested his head in Keith’s armpit and let out a content sigh, closing his eyes instantly and getting impossibly closer without saying a word. The Red Paladin twas sure that the boy in his arms was asleep after a few minutes of silence but just as Keith began to drift off to Lance began to speak.

“My family would already be setting up for my birthday back on Earth. I never really wanted them to make such a fuss, but they insisted. Could you imagine? No normal people start preparing that early.” He mumbled tiredly. 

Keith was about to make a remark about how he was in disbelief that Lance ever didn’t want the spotlight; but right now he knew that his boyfriend needed to let this out so he hummed in acknowledgement while stroking Lance’s hair, letting him continue to ramble.

“I wonder what they are doing now, you know?” Are they setting up a party? Maybe they are setting up a memorial. Maybe they aren’t doing anything at all.” Keith had to stop him there. When Lance got homesick his insecurities started to show. He would second guess every breath and make profound conclusions like this one, that were detrimental to his mental health.

“Lance… your family love you. I bet they are still searching for you this very moment. They are probably at the Garrison right now, making a big scene, demanding that they bring us all home. No one could ever forget you.” He leaned his head down at an awkward angle to place a kiss on the top of Lances head as he continued to play with his soft hair. He held Lance just a bit tighter, hoping it would make him feel secure and safe. 

Lance looked up at Keith, eyes bright in the dark room, sad, even with the small smile resting on his lips.   
“Thanks Keith. But I don’t want them making a big fuss over me this year either. Even though I know it’s impossible, all I want for my birthday is to somehow let them know that I am okay, so they can be at ease and stop searching.” He said sadly.

Keith stopped moving for a second, letting Lances words roll over in his head. As much as he wanted to be the one to give that to Lance, he too knew that it was impossible. “I’m sorry I can’t give that to you.”

“It’s okay. No one can.” 

With that Lance shut his eyes once more and returned to the safety of his boyfriend's arms. Keith held him tighter than he ever had; even tighter than when the heating had broken in the castle two weeks ago, he thought. 

He listened to Lances heart beat against his ribs, he felt Lances breaths even into a deep sleep out as it blew against his skin. He watched him for ages, just admiring his beauty. How had he ever gotten so lucky to be with Lance; and for Lance to even like him back. It always had amazed him how Lance could make friends with literally anyone. Whether it be on Earth or on any planet they picked randomly on Allura’s map. His usual self was so outgoing and brilliant even if he didn’t think so himself. Keith was in awe of his abilities though. He himself was never able to approach anyone in any sort of social situation and hell would of broken loose if he was ever in charge of keeping the peace. Lance was so good at that. He always saw the best in everyone, he saw the best in Keith. When Keith was around Lance he felt like a better person an he knew that only Lance could have that effect on him. Now he only needed something to show Lance so that he would actually believe it.

Keith found it really hard to sleep that night, ideas pondering in his head, seeming to get somewhere but then missing the target and disappearing into the abyss. He could get something from the Earth store on the swap moon… No, that is too obvious. Maybe he could draw a picture of… nope, terrible.

Keith always found himself circling back to what Lance had said earlier. About what he really wanted. He wanted to go home. You would have to be senseless to not notice that Lance missed Earth. Keith didn’t have anything to go home to, but Lance had everything. He had a home, friends, places to go, a school to attend. Lance has such a bright future on earth. Sure that future would be exploring space, which he was doing, but he would be able to share it all with the people he loved; other then Keith of course. People he loved more than anything. 

There was no way he could give lance what he really wanted. Like Lance had said, it was essentially impossible. It was too far away to make a short trip and no wormhole could be made long enough to get a real visit in. What if the castle was attacked while they were down there?

As much as he wanted to grant Lance’s wish, he just couldn’t and he needed to accept that. But Keith was still Keith and he would never in a million light years accept defeat. He would have to find something close to it. Not in distance but something else. He could feel a plan brewing, one that wouldn’t lead to a dead end. It was just what he needed.

By then, Keith’s eyes were drooping, too heavy to keep open any longer. With one last stroke of the brunette’s naturally curly, absolutely gorgeous hair, Keith fell into a well needed and well deserved slumber himself.

_____________________________________

The next morning, Keith woke up barley opening his eyes as the world slowly came back to him. He sat for a moment, willing himself to get up when he noticed that a usual weight was missing from his arms, causing him to open his eyes suddenly and sit up; not taking the time to adjust to the castle's ‘Daylight’ system before looking around the room. Lance was nowhere to be found and there was no music playing from the bathroom which meant that he wasn’t there either. It would have been no problem for Keith except that Lance almost never woke up earlier than him and if he did he would have woken Keith up too so that he wouldn’t be lonely. 

Keith slowly dragged himself out of bed to track down his missing boyfriend. He found some clean clothes that were probably Lance’s as they felt a bit big but it didn’t matter as all of their clothes were thrown together anyway and they often shared. After fixing himself up so that he could actually see through his bed hair, Keith left the room assuming that Lance had gone to start that early morning training that he had mentioned wanting to do a few weeks back. But after searching the training deck to only find Shiro doing his usual exercises, the hangers and the games room, Keith figured it was time for everyone to be up anyway and that they had probably found him before he did.

Keith’s theory was proven true as he entered the kitchen to see Hunk serving up some interesting looking, purple waffle type thing to a hunched over Blue Paladin on the end of the table. Everyone else seemed to be chatting happily to each other, Coran and Pidge were in an intense looking conversation over a hologram of a rare mineral and Hunk was sliding into the seat across from Allura and the grumpy pilot. Keith stood in the doorway a little longer, trying to figure out what was up before being passed by Shiro who greeted him happily with a pat on the shoulder.

“Morning Keith. You just gonna stand there or you do you feel like being a human today.” He joked at the teen. He wasn’t even the angsty brooding one today; he was going to be in a second though, if he didn’t fix this. Keith let out a small breath like laugh and Shiro went to join Coan and Pidge. Keith returned his gaze back to Lance before deciding that the best way to do this was to be calm and quiet about it.

This proved to be easier said than done when he began to make small movements towards Lance. He knew that it was most likely the whole going back to Earth thing or more lack thereof; but everything in Keith’s head was telling him that it was his fault. Had he not responded the way that Lance wanted him to? Should he have offered Lance some advice or do more to comfort him. 

These thoughts lead Keith all of the way to the head of the table next to Lance where he was greeted by the others along with his own serve of purple waffle things along with a warm smile from Hunk who appeared to be attempting to telepathically send him the message that Lance was not okay and that if it was his fault he would be dinner. Keith just nodded at the Yellow Paladin silently and sat down in his chair. 

Keith pulled his chair slightly closer to Lances which caused him to finally look up in realisation that someone had joined them. He offered Keith a half hearted smile before returning his laser stare back to his waffles. Keith lent over and pressed a kiss to the side of Lance’s head, a common sight for the other members of team Voltron which Keith hoped would mean that it wouldn’t turn to many heads. He took this as an opportunity to whisper to Lance in a more incognito fashion.

“You okay babe?” He said under his breath into Lance’s hair.  
Lance let out a small nod and closed mouth grin as he kept himself up with his arms folded on the table. His facial expression, however, did not fool Keith one bit.  
“Please tell me, we can go somewhere else. Is it about last night, should I have said something, should I not have?” He continued in his hushed tone.  
At hearing this, Lance let his hands drop to his sides as he abruptly turned to look Keith straight in the eyes. He looked like he had had even less sleep than usual. 

He leaned their foreheads together so that they could continue their quiet conversation.   
“No, you did nothing wrong at all.” Lance spoke softly. He let out a slightly more convincing chuckle as he went on, Keith still wasn't sure if it was genuine though. “I must just really be feeling this war right now. I’m all good.” He was acting like usual Lance again, all confident in how he said his words but something was up. 

Keith looked to Hunk for help as Lance’s gaze dropped to his feet, hoping that his friend could offer some suggestions or tell him if he was overreacting. Maybe he was pushing it. Maybe Lance really was just tired. He didn’t want to make it worse by making his boyfriend snap. He thanked the universe for his quick minded friend when he turned to get Lance’s attention by changing the subject even though it was probably tried about ten times while Keith was still convincing Blue to tell him where Lance was. 

“Hey Lance, Buddy, your birthday is coming up isn’t it? What flavour would you like your cake to be. I could try chocolate, I mean, it wouldn’t be actual chocolate, but it would taste like it…” Hunk went on. Keith loved his friend but that maybe wasn’t the best topic to choose. Lance looked around a the table of people who had stopped what they were doing to listen in to the party planning at hand.   
“Oh yeah sounds great, thanks man.” His voice came out a little shaky. “But um, whatever is fine really. I’,m sure it will taste great. Hey Allura, did you try these waffles they are really good too. I mean, if my cake is half as good as this then it will be a good birthday. Did you ever have anything like these on Altea?”

And like that the subject was changed and completely avoided. Lance was seemingly normal, louder than moments ago and smiling wide. Keith could tell that his heart wasn’t into it. Hunk just shrugged at him. He was about to try and interject again but decided against it. He had pushed too much for now. He didn’t need to cause more stress for Lance. 

“Oh I’ve seen that before!” Cried Coran, standing from his chair at his discovery. “Nothing a good old trip to the swap moon couldn’t achieve. It would only be a short distance away from where we are now anyway.” Coran and Pidge shared a fist bump, which had become an official thing for him since Hunk taught him how to do it properly. He loved some of the ‘Crazy Earth Rituals’ as he liked to call them. 

The Space Mall, perfect! Keith still hadn’t gotten anything for Lance and maybe a trip there would inspire him to get the best gift that would knock the sadness right out of the brunette. Keith hid his excitement as he cleared his throat.   
“Actually Coran, I could use some time out of the Castle, I would be happy to accompany you.”   
“Great! I love company! Also you might be helpful if we run into any more pirates.” Keith decides to leave it there and not question Coran’s statement. He felt bad for leaving Lance by himself but maybe this exactly what the needed to help Lance. Besides, Hunk and Pidge were there and couldn’t really do anything until they got the mineral or whatever it was so they could just hang with him. 

The ride to the Space Mall was actually slightly longer than Keith had expected which was probably a good thing because it gave him more time to plan what he would get for Lance while he listened to Coran explain what the mineral would do and where they could find it, a bit about its origins and some old memories from when he was Keith’s age and wanted to buy a space bike from this particular swap moon pirate. To stay it didn’t go well would be fairly accurate.   
Soon enough they were standing in the very familiar main entrance of the Space Mall. Okay, so I need to head this was for about thirty or so quintares. Did you want to come with or do you want to look around? We don’t get to come here that often. I did promise Allura something sparkly after all.” He laughed to himself. 

“Um yeah actually. Do you remember where that Earth store was?” He shrugged nervously.   
“Quite positively. Just up two floors and right down the end.” he dragged out the emphasis on ‘right’. This was going to be fun.   
The two team members split ways and after what felt like ages, Keith stepped cautiously into the empty store.   
“Hi, Welcome! Would you like to try the latest Earth fashions?” He was greeted in a loud booming voice.   
“Ahh, I, no. I’m just looking around that’s all.” he stuttered out trying to get away from the alien as quickly as possible. Nothing against him, he just needed to take his time and find the right thing, but also hurry and get back to the castle. 

Keith looked through shelves and shelves of old collected Earth things. Eighties pop art posters and picture frames of photos from Earth wars, little toy trains and cassette tapes. Everything was cute and reminded him slightly of what Earth would be like. But there were no beaches no Cuba no Space things. Why would aliens wanting Earth stuff want space stuff. None of the crappy modern pop that Lance like was in stock. Only classical symphonies and country vinyls to be found. Keith would never hear the end of it if he brought those home. Keith thought that maybe if there was like a beach postcard or a small jar of sand, maybe a musical instrument that would remind Lance of his family. Nothing. Everything was rather American or European, which wasn't bad for a space alien to find but it wasn’t what the needed.

Keith was on the last shelf of the store, right up the back and was beginning to lose hope when his eyes came across a very old, slightly frayed wicker picnic basket, opened to display a full set of picnic ware. For some reason this intrigued Keith. A picnic? Lance never specified if he liked them. He never said he hated them. Why did he seem so drawn to it then? Where would they even go? The castle? It’s not even like they could go picnic on the beach. He didn’t know any planets near them who had beaches like Earth. Even though there must be some, Keith didn’t even know if there were any beaches like on Earth. 

Then it hit him, he might not know about the planets outside of the Milky Way, but he knows two people who have one giant map of the entire universe who would. He grabbed the basket instantly shoving his hand into his pocket to grab some money which he basically threw at the Alien cashier. He tried to get away as quick as he could but not before the alien chucked in a free Elvis bobblehead and one of the country vinyls. 

Keith was sure he looked like a mad man, sprinting down the shopping centre halls, eye’s like moons and his tongue hanging out just a bit in concentration. He almost missed Coran entirely, who was waiting for him at the entrance.   
“I see you found something. What a good way to store silverware.” He responded casually as they began walking, basket tucked securely under Keith’s arm.   
“Did you find something for Allura.” Keith reminded Coran.  
“Yep, magnificent artefact.” He said pulling a candelabra looking thing out of his bag. It was hideous, but it did sparkle.  
“I bet she will love it.” He said, even though she actually probably would. 

As Keith piloted red back to the Castle, he chatted to Coran in the passenger seat behind him.  
“I wanted to get him something to do with being at home. You know how he gets.”  
“Certainly. It’s a shame to see him like that. Always so happy, but then he becomes someone else altogether.”  
“He wants to see the beach. He wants to go home. I understand. Hey Coran are there many planets with beaches like Earth?”  
“Oh yeah, plenty. The water probably isn’t water in a great deal of them but there will always be a handful.”  
“Any around here?”  
“Maybe. Allura could check for you once we get back. You could take your plate container and give it to him there.”

Once they landed safely back in the hangar, Keith practically ran to his room to stash the basket under his bed next to his notebook which he was yet to pick up. He was worried when he went barging in that Lance would be in there and see, but he remembered that it was still a normal day and he was probably at afternoon training. His next goal was to find Allura and it was as if the universe was on his side as she was right there in the control room, planning out their course. 

“Hey Allura.” Keith made himself known to her as he entered the room.  
“Oh, hello Keith, you back already. I thought Coran would be bargaining up a storm for hours.”  
“He was very well behaved this time.” He joked. “Anyway, I was wondering if you could help me. I’m planning something for Lance’s birthday tomorrow-”  
“Oh yes! Hunk and I have been putting together plans all day. I hope this cheers him up!” 

Keith smiled at the thought of Lance having a proper party like at home.   
“Hunk was explaining the basics of a human party to me earlier. It’s going to be very human.” She tried.   
Keith let out a chuckle at her attempt to describe the party. “I was wondering if maybe in the evening, I could take him out of the castle, just the two of us. Are there any planets I could fly to from here with beaches like Earth?” He asked hopefully. 

“Allura scrunched up her mouth and tapped her chin in thought. Her eyes lit up as she threw her hand upwards signalling her computer to open the map. She began scrolling around slowly as she spoke.  
“I think there is one over in the Minkus Nebula. The water will be slightly tealer than on Earth and there are three suns, but you can swim and there is what you essentially would call sand. There are trees similar to Earth and if you left at about noon you would have about two hours before the sunset to spend how you please.” She stopped her finger on a point on the map zooming in. it really did look like Earth. 

“Thank you so much Allura!” Keith said, almost running to hug her. Almost, but not quite.   
“No problem, Keith! Lance will be back to happiness and efficiency in no time! Plus the only thing inhabiting the planet are small fish so you won’t be eaten by giant bugs or mole people.”

“Thanks.” he said again, slightly calmer. “Good to know.”

Keith went to a late training session that night to make up for his day away with Coran and it was almost midnight when he got back. He expected Lance to be asleep already but instead found him on the floor with the blanket from their bed pulled of it and wrapped around him. He sat and stared at the picture of his family that they had hung on the wall. 

Keith wanted to say something but he seemed so distant it felt wrong to bring him back. He silently walked past Lance into their bathroom to wash away the day. By the time he got out and was dressed he checked his watch to find that it was only three minutes to midnight. He sat down next to Lance, leaning against the bed, Lance instantly wrapped the quilt around him too and cuddled into Keith’s neck without a word. Keith kept an eye on his watch counting down the seconds until it beeped. Lance looked up at the sound and then smiled up at Keith.   
“Happy Birthday Baby.” Keith whispered.

______________________________________________

Early the next morning Keith’s watch alarm went off sending a vibration against his stomach. He did this so it would only wake up him and not Lance. It may have if Lance had been laying in his arms or vice versa but Lance really hadn’t been himself and was not in the mood for cuddling last night. Keith knew it wasn’t anything he had specifically done wrong, Lance just needed space, he understood completely. He was homesick and his birthday reminded him too much of his family. Maybe he didn’t understand completely as he had never had a family to miss other then Shiro, but he understood Lance enough to know what he needed. 

He slipped out of bed, careful not to wake the birthday boy who was sleeping peacefully against the wall. He dressed quickly, deciding upon a messy ponytail instead of attempting to battle his bed hair before going to help with the rest of the team with the party. When he got down to the control room the team already had the task of decorating in full swing and Keith happily went to help Pidge who was struggling to stand on a stool while hanging some streamers from the roof, even if he himself wasn’t that much taller. 

“We literally can turn the gravity off, why aren’t we doing that?” Complained the Green Paladin.

“Do you want to scrape the cake off the roof? Because I don’t.” Chipped in Hunk who was on the floor surrounded by balloons from the Earth shop. 

Keith helped Shiro and Coran bring in all of Lance’s favourite foods and desserts that they had all tried to recreate as best they could before he decided that it was probably best to get Lance before he woke up himself and ruined the surprise.  
“Are you sure you guys will finish before we get back?” He questioned the team.  
“Yes, we only have the finishing touches before we can go and hide.” Chirped Allura, clapping her hands in excitement. 

With that Keith left the room on a mission to collect his boyfriend. He made his way back to their room and shuffled in quietly, sure to not wake Lance. He let go of the breath he was holding as the door shut itself behind him without disturbing the sleeping beauty. He went over to the bed and kneeled on the end of it, leaning over just enough that he could gently shake Lance. Lance slowly fluttered his eyes open with a tired groan. A smile was still perched on his face as he noticed his waker, he seemed to be much happier after a decent sleep. Maybe he had forgotten what day it was. 

“Wake up Birthday Boy.” Keith smiled, taking a chance, hoping that it didn’t make Lance upset again. His smile didn’t falter so Keith moved closer to give him a hug. They laid in a comfortable, happy silence, just enjoying each others company. Lance rolled over to be facing Keith smile still resting on his face easily, like it was glad to be back.  
“What a good wake up.” Lance mumbled tiredly, much like two nights ago before Lance was sad, the kind of tired mumble that Keith found adorable and irresistible. “I like your hair like that too.” He added, patting the back of Keith’s head gently with his fingers.   
“Come on, we need to get up, I have to show you something.” Keith said beginning to get up but Lance grabbed his wrist.  
“No, stay, we can go later.” He closed his eyes again and pulled Keith back onto the mattress.   
“Laaance…” He drawled out. 

He ended up resorting to dragging his boyfriend out of bed. Lance didn’t even bother getting into proper clothes as he had slept in sweat pants and a baggy shirt anyway, so he let Keith lead him by the hand all the way to just before the door to the control room would sense them and open.  
“Ok Lance, ready for your surprise?” He asked and Lance nodded so he stepped behind his taller boyfriend having to get on his toes to cover his eyes and lead him forward. 

He stopped right when Lance was in the middle of the room. He looked around first before he letting Lance see and he was truly impressed. There was small lions hanging from the ceiling and the present table may have only held a small amount but it was so bright and colourful and he knew it was perfect. He also took the time to notice that Allura truly had gone all out recreating an ‘Earth style’ party, but may have gotten somethings lost in translation after spotting homemade versions of pin the tail on the donkey and twister.

He could barely keep the smile off his face as he took his hands away and everyone jumped out from their spots.

“SURPRISE LANCE!” they all shouted in unison, except for Pidge who leaped out next to Lance with a party blower, sounding it very loudly over the shouts.   
Lance was speechless for a moment, looking around at every detail, laughing and smiling, eyes lighting up at every new part.

“You guys did this all for me?” He asked, pointing to his chest.  
“Of course we did,” replied Keith, taking Lances hand in his own. “You missed home so much and we wanted to give you the best home like birthday we could even though we couldn’t actually go there.”  
“You guys are the best friends I could ever ask for. Thanks so much!” He said, so overwhelmed that Keith thought he was about to cry.

Lance didn’t get much time after that to get emotional as he was dragged straight into the party and it took off. They told stories from the garrison and listened to Lance talk about his family. Allura and Coran crushed it at musical statues and were really getting into these Earth games until someone let it slip that they weren’t often played at teenagers parties unless there was a certain level of alcoholic beverages involved. 

“What! Why didn’t anyone tell me!” Allura cried.  
“No it’s fine, it reminds me of my little siblings parties or my nieces and nephews. It was secretly my favourite part anyway, I think everyone could tell though.” Lance assured her.

The team ate, gave Lance his presents and played more games, Shiro almost literally crushing Pidge in an intense game of twister. Everyone was enjoying themselves as they chatted away happily like there wasn’t even a war going on at all and eventually Keith finds Lance and pulls him aside.

“I never got to give you my present.” Whispered Keith thinking back to the picnic basket and towels already loaded into Red’s cockpit.  
“You didn’t have to get me anything. The party was already enough for me.” He smiled, pulling Keith in towards him by his waist.  
“Well, I did, let me show you.”

Keith snuck Lance down to the hangars and into Red.   
“Ooh, are we going somewhere?” Lance bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet before taking a seat.   
“You’ll see.” Was all Keith replied with as he took hold of Red’s controls and entered in the coordinates to the GPS.

Soon they approached the planet and Keith saw Lance slowly get up with a frown and move to the glass to get a better look at their destination. He looked down at the floor and then to Keith. 

“What planet is that, is that where we are going?” He asked.  
“Yeah, Allura helped me find it. It has beaches…” He tried to sell it. He knew that Lance thought that the blue coloured Planet was Earth for a split second but he hoped that once they got down there it would be all better.  
“Thank you Keith!” He replied before pressing his face back to the glass to observe the dark green landforms that were getting closer and closer to them.

Keith landed Red down right on the sand like beach, which to be fair, could have fooled anyone.

“Wow, it really is like Earth. I can’t believe this!” Lance yelled like an excited child, crinkling his toes in the sand.

“So you like it?” Asked Keith as he dropped their stuff onto a spot a few meters away from the teal water.  
“Are you kidding? I love it! It’s been so long since I have seen an actual ocean that wasn’t lava or acid. The trees are like, real trees and the sky is kinda blue. It’s perfect!”

They had landed around what they counted to be about two or three o’clock in the afternoon so after a quick change into their swimmers they spent the afternoon splashing around in the water, sharing a lunch of leftover party food and building a fire as the three suns that burned in the sky sunk lower and lower on the horizon. 

The two raced each other back to the shore after one more go in the water before laying down on a towel together to watch the last of the day’s light disappear. Keith laid his head on Lances arm as he watched Lance a little more than the view because the fire dancing off Lance’s tan skin was more ‘once in a lifetime’ to Keith then any sunset. 

“Best birthday ever?” He said as he rubbed circles into Lances hip.  
“Best birthday ever.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading!
> 
> Please comment what you thought! I love reading what you have to say xx
> 
> I run on Validation so hit that kudos button too and support the feed my ego foundation (FMEF for short)
> 
> ~ Sarah


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